


Common Ground

by ralf



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Humor, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Parabatai Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 06:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21369304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralf/pseuds/ralf
Summary: Alec texted him this afternoon that he was going on patrol with Jace because of an unexpected increase in demon activity and that he'd spend the night at the Institute. Stretching his senses into his spellwork he can make out both Alec's and Jace's presence crossing the lobby and entering the elevator, a sense of urgency surrounding them like a dark cloud. The last traces of Magnus's sleepiness vanish. Whatever lead to this change of plans is probably nothing good.
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 23
Kudos: 358





	Common Ground

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skceh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skceh/gifts).

> lol okay so this fic is almost two years old (20th december if you wanna congratulate it) and i've _finally_ found the energy to finish it which took tons of editing and i _hate_ editing. the things we do for love ;__; anyway this fic is specifically dedicated to skceh because a little bird told me you're fond of the magnus&jace dynamic, so i hope you'll enjoy the glimpses of it you might catch here ;)

Magnus wakes to the tingling sensation of someone passing through his wards around the building. Blearily he peeks at the clock on his bedside table. 2:37 AM. He can't imagine Cat or Raphael deciding to pay him an unannounced visit at this time of night, so it's probably Alexander.

He frowns. Alec texted him this afternoon that he was going on patrol with Jace because of an unexpected increase in demon activity and that he'd spend the night at the Institute. Stretching his senses into his spellwork he can make out both Alec's and Jace's presence crossing the lobby and entering the elevator, a sense of urgency surrounding them like a dark cloud. The last traces of Magnus's sleepiness vanish. Whatever lead to this change of plans is probably nothing good.

He rolls out of bed swiftly and shivers when the cool air hits his bare chest. The lights in the loft come on with a snap of his fingers, his black robe flutters to him and settles around his shoulders comfortably, tying itself. The bedroom door glides open as he nears it and he's just set foot into the main room when Alec bursts through the front door, supporting Jace who's an alarming shade of white. They stumble over to the nearest couch and Jace collapses into the cushions limply even though Alec tries to soften his fall.

“What happened?” Magnus rushes to them, his magic probing at them in search of damage. Alec seems mostly unharmed, Magnus can only detected a few superficial scrapes and bruises on him but Jace's left side emanates demonic energy.

“Raum demon,” Alec answers tersely, pulling the tattered remains of Jace's shirt up and revealing a jagged cut on his flank that's about three inches long. It bleeds sluggishly, the veins around it standing out in stark black indicating a demon venom poisoning. It's not advanced yet but Magnus's stomach clenches with nerves regardless. Minor poisonings like these can be cured by activating a healing rune so the fact that Jace's healing rune shimmers with the glow of recent use and the injury is still there spells trouble. Something's not right with the wound.

“The healing rune didn't work at all?” he inquires, reaching out for the edges of the cut, carefully feeling for lumps. Jace flinches back from his touch instinctively, hissing in pain and Alec twitches beside him as if he wants to bat Magnus's hand away. He reins himself in a moment later, his whole body coiled tight with tension.

“It worked temporarily. The slash closed a bit to its current size and the dark veins disappeared but they returned after a minute. I tried again and they kept coming back but weaker each time. Jace wanted to wait it out because it has to run out at some point but then he kept getting paler and...” Alec breaks off.

Magnus barely refrains from rolling his eyes. Shadowhunters. Why seek help if you might be able to sit out an injury under excruciating pain? He'll never understand these people.

“Why didn't you call me?” His tone is harsher than he intends it to be. Alec's frantic energy is putting him on edge even more than the rune-resisting wound in Jace's side.

“We were close by. Only three blocks away.”

Magnus doesn't dignify that with an answer and gets to work instead. He'll remove the poison and hopefully that'll clear things up enough for him to see what else is wrong. Blue tendrils of magic waft from his fingers to Jace's side, sinking into the wound and filtering out the tainted blood. Jace squinches his eyes shut, his chest heaving with the strain but he doesn't make a sound. The first thick trickle of dark blood runs down Jace's skin slowly, seeping into the couch cushions.

Alec's hand claws at Magnus's shoulder, nearly startling him out of his concentration. “Is everything alright? Is it working?”

“Yes,” he answers through clenched teeth, focusing back on not accidentally tearing Jace's blood vessels apart.

“Do you need my strength?”

“No.”

He can feel Alec's panic rising with every drop of blood that leaves Jace's body and pools on the couch. It doesn't help that Alec can feel his pain, flinching whenever Jace does. This is a mess. The extraction of the venom is slow-going and something is off about it but Magnus can't focus on finding out what it is with Alec hovering like this, fingers digging deeper and deeper into Magnus's shoulder and radiating anxiety. He'd tell Alec to back off so he can investigate but Alec will probably have a conniption if he tells him that he's not entirely sure what's wrong with his parabatai. He needs to distract Alec, for all of their sakes.

“Can you brew me half a liter of the herb in the red bag, right shelf over the spices?” It's a rare tea he imports from Malaysia that holds no healing proportions but Alec doesn't need to know that. “Five leaves should be enough.”

Alec has left for the kitchen before Magnus has really finished talking. He's halfway through a relieved breath when Jace gives a hoarse chuckle. “He's worse than a mother hen, isn't he?”

Magnus blinks, the slightest bit embarrassed that his diversion tactic got busted by a half-conscious shadowhunter before he goes back to analyzing the injury. The superficial traces of the venom are gone and the dark veins disappeared, but the can still feel something demonic lingering.

“Did Alec clean your wound?”

“Yeah,” Jace confirms, shifting a little. “Healing rune doesn't work if there's anything stuck inside.”

Magnus frowns and sends his magic past the outer rim of the cut. When he was pulling the venom out he couldn't shake the feeling that it seemed to be originating from within, so he follows the dull feeling of demonic energy. It snakes deeper into Jace's flesh and off to the side along his ribs. Magnus closes his eyes, tracking the flimsy trail until he finally discovers the source. A large splinter of _something_, maybe a stinger, wedged into the tissue around Jace's ribcage. It's the cause for the continued contamination, oozing venom into Jace's bloodstream. Magnus contemplates how to remove it. He could drag it back out the way it came in but it's a fair bit off from the open wound and would just tear through more of Jace's flesh. Less painful to make a direct cut.

He summons a sharp knife in a flurry of sparks and is all the more glad that he relocated Alec to the kitchen.

“This might hurt a little,” he warns. Jace just gives a huff in response.

Magnus positions the tip of the knife over where he located the splinter, slowly increasing pressure until the skin breaks, carving a small cut. He spreads it apart with magic and immediately spots the splinter, glistening black with a sickish green shine. Carefully he draws it out, a fresh rivulet of blood making its way down Jace's side. Jace pants. Magnus hurries to close his wounds for good, alleviating as much of his pain as possible.

Alec arrives from the kitchen just in time to see the last of the damage disappear. He abandons the cup on the nearest flat surface in favor of running to Jace's side and checking him over for himself. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, Magnus patched me up nicely.” Jace dismisses the fussing with a wave of his hand and moves to get up but Alec is having none of it, pushing him down again by his shoulders. The little amount of resistance Jace displays is slightly concerning.

Magnus sweeps his magic over him once more and belatedly realizes how exhausted Jace is. In spite of its low dosage the venom was very potent and maltreating Jace with healing runes had drained his energy even more.

“He just needs rest now. He should lay down,” Magnus says and since the couch won't fit Jace completely he adds, “preferably in the guest room.”

Alec loses no time wrapping his arm around Jace's shoulder and pulling him to his feet gently, carrying most of his weight as he guides him towards the hallway. Magnus observes their departure for a moment, making sure Alec has it handled despite his own fatigue, then he rids the couch of Jace's blood with a wave of his wrist. While he appreciates Alec's furniture scrubbing routine the truth is that nothing cleans a cushion quite like magic. Having erased the last evidence of this unpleasant incident from existence he follows them to the guest room.

Jace is settled down on the blankets, his breath shallow and his eyes closed. He's still pale, probably slipping into unconsciousness from exertion, and Magnus reaches out to heal every last scrape on him he can find, moving on to Alec when he's done. Alec startles when his bruises disappear and turns to him, smiling for the first time since stepping into the loft. “Thank you. For everything.”

Magnus shakes his head. “Never for this.” He watches as Alec focuses back on Jace, staring at his profile as if that might speed up his recovery. Magnus is familiar with the compulsion to not look away from a bedridden loved one so he's not surprised when Alec states, “I can't leave him yet. I'll stay with him.”

Magnus suspects that Alec won't voluntarily move an inch from his crooked hunch on the chair by Jace's bedside. He snaps his fingers and the mattress broadens until it's wide enough to generously accomodate two people. “You should go easy on your back.”

Alec shoots him a grateful smile before slipping off his boots and climbing in next to Jace. He relaxes into the sheets, the tension finally leaving his body as he intertwines his fingers with Jace's slack ones.

Magnus knows his work here is done and he should leave yet his feet refuse to move. The prospect of returning to his lonely bed is less than appealing when all he wants is to curl up next to Alec but that's clearly not an option and he can't keep standing here all night. Still. One more moment won't hurt, just to reassure himself that Alec really is alright.

He lingers a second too long though because Alec glances back over his shoulder. A small grin appears on his lips, fond and private. “I think there's enough space for you to extend the bed a little bit more, you know,” he comments casually.

Magnus blinks, a bit embarrassed that he was seen through so easily for the second time this night, but Alec's gaze is warm and inviting and maybe being an open book for the people he cares about and who care about him in return isn't the worst thing.

One last snap of his fingers later he lies down beside Alec, hesitantly moving closer. Alec huffs and pulls him all the way in until they are flush together, his back to Magnus's chest. Magnus slings his arm around Alec's waist, sighing contentedly and as Alec lets out a long breath Magnus thinks he's not the only one who's finally feeling at peace.

~ ~ ~

Awareness creeps in gradually. Magnus can tell by the slightly-rougher-than-expected feel of the sheets that he's not in his own bed. The linens in the guest room are still silky though and Alec is in his arms, so he can't mind too much.

He blinks against the sunlight streaming through the windows and almost instantly locks eyes with Jace who's studying him intently from across the bed. He's still a bit pale but his gaze is clear and he looks rested.

Several moments pass by in silence where they simply continue to stare at each other until Magnus quirks an eyebrow, half questioning and half challenging.

“Didn't think I'd ever see the day that I share a bed with the High Warlock of Brooklyn.” Jace's voice is a little scratchy but the smirk hiding in the corner of his mouth tells Magnus everything he needs to know about his wellbeing.

An answering smirk tugs on Magnus's lips. “Don't get too used to that luxury.”

Jace chuckles, amusement glinting in his eyes, no doubt enjoying their banter as much as Magnus does. Before he can retaliate though Alec makes a noise of protest, frowning deeply and disapprovingly pats Magnus's hand that lays across his stomach. “Shut up,” he mumbles, half-asleep.

Magnus bites back a snort and exchanges an unexpected but not unwelcome look of shared affection with Jace. He obligingly keeps his mouth shut and sinks back into the pillows, tucking his nose into Alec's hair. Silence settles over them once more, only broken by the occasional soft snore from Alec and Jace's slowing breaths. Magnus remembers the stories Alec told him about the Famous Lightwood Sleepover Parties and as he drifts back to sleep he thinks he finally sees the appeal.


End file.
